Primaries will decide all Tupelo council races

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By Robbie Ward/NEMS Daily Journal

TUPELO – Hair salon owner Melony Armstrong, the lone Democrat in the Ward 3 City Council race, said Monday she will no longer seek the office.
With the Democrat’s departure from the election, all council races will be decided in the May 7 primaries. The mayor’s race between Democrat Jason Shelton and Republican Fred Pitts will be the only contested race on the June 4 general election ballot.
In Ward 3, the winner of the primary between Republicans Jim Newell, the incumbent and instructor at Itawamba Community College, and Liz Dawson, the community health director at North Mississippi Medical Center, will represent the area on the City Council.
There are competitive primary races in all wards except Ward 7, where incumbent Democrat Willie Jennings is unopposed.
Armstrong announced in an email to the Daily Journal that she decided to withdraw from the Ward 3 race because of “personal reasons.”
She could not be reached for comment.
Pursuing a seat on the City Council wasn’t Armstrong’s first foray into politics. She unsuccessfully ran in the special election in 2011 to replace Alan Nunnelee in the Mississippi Senate.
Among 17 candidates for City Council, Armstrong was one of two who hadn’t filed required documents disclosing her sources of income.
robbie.ward@journalinc.com